The In Crowd
by Data Girl 3
Summary: After the Bohemian Kids’ friend, Kris, is ridiculed for being a poor excuse for a girl, she decides to change her entire persona in order to fit in
1. The Boho Kids

**AN:** Yes, readers, I am now continuing the Boho Kids Story Arc after a five month hiatus. Although, this will probably be my least favorite story in the arc, but I will do my best with it, like always. Read, enjoy, and please review.

* * *

The Kelly Koffeehouse was rather quiet that mild autumn morning, with only one small group of patrons sitting at a table. Taking advantage of the lull in activity, fifteen-year-old Kris was placing fresh scones and muffins into the display case. Meanwhile, her father, David, was busy cleaning the coffeepots while her brothers mopped the floor. In the back, she could hear her Uncle Justin washing the used coffee mugs.

As Kris placed the last cranberry almond muffin onto the serving tray, she heard the tinkle of the bell that had been placed over the door to announce the arrival of customers. Turning to the door, Kris was ready to welcome the newcomers to the Kelly Koffeehouse, but when she saw who was at the door, a wide smile appeared on her face instead. Standing there were the friends she'd made at summer camp two months ago, Zack Cohen, Rodolfo Davis and Alvin Coffin.

"Hey, Kris," Rodolfo waved in greeting. "How are you?"

"Oh, not bad," Kris replied, setting her tray down and stepping over to them. "It's good to see you guys." It was at that moment that Kris noticed Alvin was holding a miniature pinscher puppy in his arms. "Oh, you brought your dog, Alvin?"

"Yeah, we were taking him for a walk now," Alvin explained as Kris patted the dog's head. The puppy, whose name was Snip, had been a 'welcome back from camp' present from his parents, but he mainly stayed in Alvin's room, since his mother's elderly purebred spaniel, Gatsby, constantly bullied the new puppy.

"We were stopping by to ask you if you'd want to come along," Zack invited. "We're heading to the park, and Mom gave us some money to buy hot dogs from the vendor down there."

"Yeah, I'd like that!" Kris nodded before turning to her father. "Dad? May I go with my friends, please?"

David had been watching his daughter talking to the three boys with a pleased smile. He could never forget how happy he'd been when Kris had first told him about making friends with them during camp. His daughter had never been able to make friends with anyone before then, because so many of her peers were unable to see past her often unusual mannerisms and kept their distance. He could not deny that he was thankful to these boys for being different and offering their friendship to her.

"Well," David replied at Kris' question. "Seeing as we're not very busy today, I suppose it'll be all right if you head off early. You have fun with your friends."

"Thanks, Dad!" Kris laughed, pulling off her Kelly Koffeehouse apron and handing it over to her father. A second later, she was out the door with Zack, Rodolfo and Alvin.

* * *

Once the four friends were a few blocks away from the Kelly Koffeehouse, Rodolfo turned to Kris with a mischievous grin.

"So," he began, a devious gleam in his brown eyes. "Did you manage to get it?"

"Of course, I did," Kris replied, pulling out a can of refried beans. "But why did I need to bring it, anyway?"

"Oh, you'll see," Zack laughed, reaching into the backpack he was carrying and pulling out a woman's purse. "Auntie Maureen said we could have this. She was going to throw it out anyway, since the strap's broken."

"We thought it would be good day to play a little joke on someone," Alvin explained. "A joke with a lesson involved."

"How does _that_ work?" Kris asked, looking between the boys.

"Oh, it's simple," Rodolfo laughed. "You see, the joke's only on you if you're not an honest person. Here, we'll show you. Consider it your official initiation into the group."

"First, you have to get Snip here to eat the stuff in the can you brought," Alvin went on. "After that, well, you'll probably catch on very quickly." Kris fixed her friends with a puzzled look, but she opened the can of beans without a word, using the pocketknife Rodolfo had gotten for Christmas the previous year, and held it out to Snip. The small dog sniffed at the contents of the can before he started eating hungrily. In almost no time at all, Snip had eaten half the can.

"Yeah, I think that'll do it," Alvin grinned, setting the dog on the sidewalk.

"Now what do I have to do?" Kris asked her friends, still holding the half-eaten can of beans.

"Don't worry about it, Kris," Zack chuckled. "Leave the rest to Snip." Rodolfo, noticing the skeptical expression on Kris' face, took pity on her and whispered their plan in her ear. The moment he finished explaining, her characteristic placid smile appeared on her face.

"Oh, so _that's_ what we're up to," Kris nodded in understanding.

"Whoa, guys!" Alvin cried excitedly. "I think this is it!" Instantly, everyone turned to Snip, who was sniffing around the sidewalk, circling around a certain spot on the pavement.

"Yeah, I think you're right," Rodolfo grinned, watching eagerly with everyone else as Snip began squatting down.

* * *

Moments later, Zack was carrying the old purse at arms length, trying not to pay attention to the smell emitting from it, with his friends following at a close distance. Snip was now cuddled happily in Kris' arms, completely unaware of what his owner was up to with his friends.

"Man, Alvin," Rodolfo groaned, covering his nose with his hand. "Do us a favor and _never_ feed Snip refried beans again after this.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Alvin replied, stepping over to the edge of the sidewalk and looking up and down the street. "Hey, Zack! This looks like a good place. There'll be nothing hiding it from view. Set it down here." Zack, all too eager to be rid of the odiferous item, quickly placed the loaded purse on the spot Alvin indicated. Reaching into his pocket, Alvin pulled out a single one dollar bill and slid it into the purse so it would be hanging out.

"All right, hurry up," Rodolfo urged, ducking into a nearby alleyway, where they could watch things unfold. Quickly, Zack, Kris and Alvin joined Rodolfo in his hiding place, where the four of them stood waiting, looking around for any sign of someone taking the bait. After about two minutes, Kris paused from repositioning her hold on Snip, spotting a car slowing down.

"I think this guy just saw the purse," she told her friends, pointing to the car in question. Sure enough, the car Kris pointed out pulled up to the curb and a man stepped out, looking down at the booby trapped purse.

From their hiding spot, the four friends watched with baited breath as the man covertly glanced around to see if anyone was looking before picking up the purse. After making sure no one was watching for a second time, he slowly started to return to his car.

"No way, he's taking off with it!" Rodolfo whispered in excitement.

"Oh, this guy deserves what he's gonna get!" Alvin agreed with a Cheshire cat grin.

Moments later, the dishonest man started to drive away from the curb, with the purse in tow. Laughing in excitement, the Boho Kids abandoned their hiding place and stepped out onto the sidewalk to get a better look at the departing car, waiting for the bomb to drop. To their delight, the car hadn't gone three feet before screeching to a halt and the man inside threw the loaded purse out of his car window with a loud cry of horrified disgust. Unable to contain themselves, the four friends instantly broke out laughing, utterly pleased with themselves, but the smiles suddenly vanished from their faces when they saw the man they'd played the joke had looked out his car window and was staring right at them.

"Aw, guys, I think he saw us," Alvin noted with a hint of panic in his voice. No sooner had he said this, the furious man disappeared inside his car, which immediately backed up to the curb again. In a heartbeat, Rodolfo, Kris, Alvin and Zack were racing away, with the man soon in pursuit.

"Over there!" Rodolfo shouted to his friends, pointing at a temporary fence that had been put up to block off some construction on a side street. The four friends immediately altered their course, scaling over the fence once they reached it, with Kris hesitating only to herd Snip through the gap beneath the fence. Once they were all in the construction site, which was thankfully vacant of workers to hinder them, the Boho Kids made full use of the construction pipes and other obstacles to shake their pursuer. However, their effort was unnecessary as the man from the car was unable to find a suitable foothold in the fence and could not follow them into the construction site. Even so, the Boho Kids didn't stop running until they made it out of the construction site and took refuge in an alleyway.

"That was fun," Alvin commented, rubbing at the stitch in his side while the others tried to catch their breath again.

"You're telling me," Zack chuckled.

"While we're all telling each other things," Kris began, her placid smile stretching across her face, "do you boys do things like that all the time?"

"Pretty much," Rodolfo replied, smiling back at her. "But we don't often get chased by random strangers. That one was new."

"Why? Too much for you?" Alvin challenged.

"Not at all," Kris stated, brushing her long black hair over her shoulder. "I find a good run very stimulating."

As the four friends laughed softly at their escape, Zack and Alvin started looking around, trying to see where they had ended up.

"That's a lot of graffiti, even for New York," Alvin noted, glancing at the wall of the alley they were in.

"Yeah," Zack nodded, glancing around for a street sign and soon seeing that they were somewhere on Avenue B. However, while he was somewhat familiar with the street in general, after numerous visits to Thomson Square Park, nothing around him looked familiar, and that was giving him an uneasy feeling. If he wasn't recognizing their surroundings, chances were they had ended up in a part of Manhattan that his parents had never taken him and Rodolfo, and that could only mean they were probably not in a place they were supposed to be. Even Auntie Maureen had told them since kindergarten that there were some areas of New York that weren't even safe for adults. If they really were in one of those places now, it was not a good idea to stick around. Perhaps if they started to head up the street….

"Hang on," Rodolfo frowned, suddenly staring at something. "I… I've heard that name before." Zack, Alvin and Kris followed his gaze to an establishment right across the street from him. The outer walls had been painted in various shades of blue, and a large neon sign hung over the entrance, which was framed with iron bars. Judging by the fact that the barred gate was currently padlocked shut, it was clear that the place was closed, but Rodolfo still stared darkly at the unlit neon sign, which also featured silhouettes of women in various poses.

"You okay, Brown Eyes?" Kris asked, glancing at the expression on her friend's face.

"Yeah," Rodolfo nodded stiffly. "Let's just…" Before he could continue, the sound of someone stepping on an empty beer can alerted the Boho Kids that someone was standing behind them. Spinning around, they all stared up into the face of a man whose long greasy-looking hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He was looking right back at them with an expression none of them liked.

"And what," the Man sneered in an oily voice, "are you four doing here? I don't recall ever seeing any of you lining up to buy. Oh, unless you're _new_ clients. It just so happens I…" The Man suddenly stopped in mid-sentence, staring at Rodolfo as if he'd just noticed him there. Immediately, the Man's face shifted, taking up a mixture of shock, rage, and hatred.

"_You_," the Man hissed in fury, his eyes full of malice. Unsettled by the way the Man was glaring at him, Rodolfo started to back away, but before he could move very far, the Man suddenly reached out, grabbing onto Rodolfo's shirt collar in an extremely threatening manner. For a brief moment, Rodolfo felt himself tense up, expecting the man to pull out a knife or gun, but before he could regain control of his body to defend himself, something darted into his line of vision. Instantly, Rodolfo heard the Man shout out in pain as he released his grip on his shirt collar. Quickly stepping over to Zack and Alvin's side, Rodolfo turned back to see Kris was maintaining a firm grip on the Man's arm, biting down hard on his wrist.

"Little bi-ch!" the Man snarled, grabbing onto Kris' hair and yanking it back, effectively forcing her to stop her attack on his sore wrist

"Leave her alone!" Rodolfo lunged forward, pulling Kris away from the Man, out of concern of him retaliating on her. Sure enough, the moment his wrist was free of Kris' teeth, the Man rounded on the four teens, his hand reaching into the pocket of his jacket and withdrawing what was unmistakably a switchblade.

"That's far enough," a harsh voice suddenly rang out through the alleyway. The Boho Kids and the Man all looked around to see a middle-aged cop standing there, his gun drawn.

"Sergeant Kurtz!" Zack smiled, recognizing his parents' old cop friend. The Man, pausing only to glower at Rodolfo one last time, took advantage of the cop's momentary distraction caused by Zack's greeting to retreat further into the alleyway. For a brief moment, Sergeant Kurtz looked as if he wanted to give chase, but thought better of it.

"Zack, Rodolfo," Sergeant Kurtz spoke to the two boys, still frowning after the Man in dislike. "You and your friends get into the car. This area of town isn't a good place for you."

"No kidding," Alvin commented, leading the way to Sergeant Kurtz' squad car, which was parked along the curb.

"You're not going after him?" Kris asked, blinking up at the cop, undoubtedly noticing the desire to do so in his face.

"Not this time," Sergeant Kurtz answered. "Right now, my priority is to get all of you out of here."

Once the four of them were safely inside the squad car, Sergeant Kurtz returned to the driver's seat and drove off. After getting back on the road, he began speaking to the teens sternly.

"I don't suppose you'd like to tell me why the four of you were wandering around that particular corner of Alphabet City?" Sergeant Kurtz said. "I know for a fact, Zack, your parents try to steer clear of this block."

"It's a long story, but we didn't end up here because we _wanted_ to," Zack explained. "We were just trying to figure out how to get back into a part of town we recognized when that guy came along."

"Well, I'm not going to pretend that you weren't lucky I happened to be patrolling this street today," Sergeant Kurtz sighed heavily, pulling up in front of the entrance to Thomson Square Park. "But I might not be there to step in next time. For that reason, I want the four of you to promise me not to go anywhere near that place again. Furthermore, if you ever see that man again, you're not to stick around. Instead, you need to get back home as soon as you can."

"Sergeant Kurtz?" Rodolfo paused before getting out with his friends to enter the park. "Could you tell me something? That man; who was he, anyway?"

"Why do you ask?" Sergeant Kurtz glanced at Rodolfo through the rearview mirror.

"Just…when he looked at me, he suddenly got angry. I couldn't help wondering why. I mean, I've never seen him before, so…"

"I should hope not," Sergeant Kurtz muttered to himself before turning in his seat, in order to look Rodolfo in the eyes directly. "Let's just say that man you and your friends ran into was an old enemy of your parents. Your father in particular. Chances are he was able to recognize you as Roger's son, which isn't very hard to do. The family resemblance has always been obvious. That would explain why he got angry when he got a good look at you. And that is also another reason why you have to get away quickly if you see him again. Do you understand?"

"Yeah," Rodolfo nodded, exiting the squad car and joining his friends, his face set. Sergeant Kurtz made sure the four teens were safely in the park before driving off to continue his patrol of the city. Even after Sergeant Kurtz had left, the Boho Kids didn't say a word to each other. For a good five minutes, the only sound among them was Snip's occasional whine from his spot in Alvin's arms, as he gazed sadly at the pigeons he wanted to chase. Finally, as they neared the hot dog vendor, Rodolfo broke the silence.

"Hey, Kris," he spoke, looking down at his shoes. "Thanks for, you know, getting that man to let go of me back there."

"Don't mention it," Kris smiled placidly. "And thank you for trying to protect me, too."

"Well, what do you expect?" Rodolfo grinned roguishly. "Friends stick together, don't they?"

"I suppose they do," Kris returned the grin for a long moment, only looking away again after the hot dog vendor started asking the four teens what they wanted on their hot dogs.


	2. Seeds of Doubt

Rodolfo, Zack, Kris and Alvin sat together in the shade of a tree, finishing their hot dogs while Alvin kept a firm hold on Snip's leash. Their brief encounter with the Man had been completely forgotten, and Kris was listening quietly as her friends talked about the teachers they had in the new school year. It always interested her to hear about their experiences in the public school system. She knew nothing about it herself, since her father and uncle had chosen to have her and her older brothers home schooled.

"Oh, hey, that reminds me," Alvin suddenly started with a laugh, turning to Zack. "Did you talk to that girl from math club at lunch today? Tracey?"

"The one with the curly hair?" Zack mused, remembering. "No, what about her?"

"I overheard her talking to her friend in the lunch line today," Alvin grinned. "I think you got her attention somehow."

"It might be she heard about what happened to him at camp," Rodolfo pointed out, gesturing to Zack's ankle, which was no longer swollen. "I mean, the doctors said that he was lucky nothing was broken when he fell down that hill."

"Well, either way," Alvin shrugged, "at the risk of sounding like a gossiping girl, I think she might be hoping you'd show some interest in her this year."

"Oh," Zack glanced down at his hot dog holder. "I kinda hope not. I don't want to make her feel bad."

"Ah, right," Alvin smirked, grinning deviously at his bespectacled friend. "That's right, I forgot. You got that long distance relationship with Little Miss Zoey, don't you?"

Two things happened almost simultaneously. A strange, pained expression crossed Zack's face and Rodolfo quickly leapt to his feet.

"Alvin," Rodolfo spoke pointedly. "Come help me throw out these hot dog holders, okay?"

"Um, sure," Alvin nodded, slightly confused. The two boys crossed over to the garbage can nearby in silence, leaving Zack and Kris sitting beneath the tree. Once they were out of earshot, however, Rodolfo started whispering to Alvin.

"Listen, could you try not to mention Zoey in front of Zack?"

"Why? What's wrong?"

"It's just that….Zack hasn't got a letter from Zoey since before we left for camp. And Zack's last letter to her was returned to us unopened. Nobody even answers the phone when Zack tries to call her. Needless to say, Zack's taking pretty hard."

"I didn't know," Alvin admitted, chancing a glance back at Zack.

"Yeah, I know you didn't. You couldn't have known. Just be careful not to mention her in front of Zack, all right?"

"Sure, no problem," Alvin agreed. Acting casually, Rodolfo and Alvin rejoined their friends by the tree, where Alvin attempted to at keep it light.

"So, you guys want to visit the arcade, today?" he asked. "Kris, have you ever played skeeball? It's one of the best games ever invented." The four teens started to make their way out of the park, but as they walked towards the entrance, they passed a rather sizable crowd gathered around an event table that had been set up.

"Wonder what's going on," Zack wondered, staring at the crowd, which consisted mainly of girls.

"No idea," Rodolfo shook his head. "Wait here. I'll go check it out." The brown-eyed boy promptly merged into the crowd, momentarily disappearing from view, but came back seconds later carrying what looked like some kind of flyer.

"So, what's the occasion?" Alvin prompted.

"Well, apparently," Rodolfo began, passing the flyer to his friends, "one of those teen girl magazines is running some sort of article in next month's issue. They want to take a bunch of pictures of teen girls living in New York. Something about wanting to give their readers a realistic idea of what other teen girls are like."

"Oh, one of _those_," Kris commented, her voice suddenly, and surprisingly, disproving.

"What's wrong with that?" Zack asked, turning to her.

"Dad, Uncle Justin and I never had much patience with those magazines," Kris explained. "Most of those teen magazines are nothing more than celebrity tabloids and cosmetic promotions rolled into one. Some even have the stories about embarrassing moments other people have, which is most obviously included to encourage readers to learn how to be cruel and insulting to everyone who has an embarrassing moment. And that's not even mentioning the horoscopes, which only exist to further influence people to act in a certain way. Like Uncle Justin always says, magazines are part of a worldwide conspiracy to turn people into drones."

"Why not just say what you really mean, Kris Kelly?" a voice laughed from behind them. Looking over their shoulders, Rodolfo, Zack and Alvin saw a tall girl from camp, who they all knew by face but not by name.

"Is this someone you know, Kris?" Alvin asked, taking note of the fact that this girl knew Kris' name.

"You could say that," the tall girl replied.

"Jennifer was my cabin-mate from camp," Kris explained.

"What do you mean by Kris 'saying what she really means'?" Rodolfo challenged, eyeing Jennifer in dislike. Something about the way she had spoken to Kris reminded him of his old enemy, Charles Miller, who had thankfully been accepted to a private school this year, which meant they now hardly ever saw each other.

"I mean," Jennifer clarified, "I shared a cabin with her for a full month, so I managed to gain a pretty good idea of what she's like. And I think the real reason you're looking down on the magazine, Kris, is because you know you'd have no chance of appearing in one. Everybody expresses sour grapes around opportunities they know they have no chance of getting."

"And why _wouldn't_ Kris have a chance?" Alvin frowned, stepping in. "She's a girl, isn't she?"

"Oh, is she?" Jennifer smirked. "Funny. During the time I shared a cabin with her, the impression I got was that she didn't have what it took to be a girl. In all honesty, I don't think she even knows the first thing about being a girl."

"That's not true," Zack argued, defending his friend.

"Really?" Jennifer blinked. "Then why isn't she friends with other girls? From what I've seen, you three are the only people she ever hangs around with. If you ask me, if no other girls will agree to be your friend, then you must be a pretty poor excuse for a girl. Still, I suppose you can hardly be blamed, Kris. From what I've heard, and forgive me if I'm sounding insensitive, you lacked a good female role model growing up. It's no wonder you know nothing about being a girl."

"Well, that just shows how much _you_ know," Rodolfo snapped before stiffly ushering Kris away.

"Hey, Kris?" Zack spoke once they left the park, noticing the black-haired girl hadn't said a word since identifying Jennifer. "Don't listen to what Jennifer said, okay? Because she doesn't know what she's talking about. I mean, my mom was pretty much raised by Uncle Zachary, and she still enjoys going window shopping with Auntie Maureen and Aunt Joanne. So…" Zack trailed off, forgetting on where he was going with his statement.

"Forget about her, Kris," Alvin advised. You might be bizarre, but that's what makes you you. You wouldn't be half as interesting if you were like other girls."

"Um, thanks, guys," Kris shrugged, not sounding convinced at all. "If it's all the same to you, though, I think I'm going to head home now."

"Don't you want to go to the arcade with us?" Rodolfo asked, starting to worry that she'd taken Jennifer more seriously than she should have. "I think it'll be fun."

"No, thank you, Rodolfo," Kris shook her head, bending over to pat Snip on the head. "I really think I should head back to the Kelly Koffeehouse, now. Dad and Uncle Justin will probably need my help soon." Without another word, Kris turned and walked off, leaving her friends watching her go.

"You think she's okay?" Alvin asked, visibly concerned.

"I hope so," Zack sighed. "Still, I think that Jennifer girl hit her below the belt. We all know that Kris probably doesn't have any friends, apart from us, but there's no reason to rub it in."

"I'm sure she'll be all right," Rodolfo said confidently. "She's Kris, isn't she? The only thing _I'm_ hoping is that Jennifer never meets Charles Miller."


	3. Kris' Makeover

On Monday afternoon, sometime after school had let out, a taxi cab pulled up to the mall, allowing Rodolfo, Zack and Alvin to get out.

"Thanks for the ride, James," Zack spoke to the young man driving the taxi, who was also the boyfriend of three years to Zack's older sister, Penny.

"No trouble at all, Zack," James smiled, accepting the money that the fifteen-year-old boy was handing him. "Don't forget, I've met your Auntie Maureen. You're probably really lucky you three remembered that it's her birthday this Wednesday. Good luck finding a present for her. I'll swing by at four thirty to take you home."

After James had driven off, the three boys turned and headed into the mall.

"I tell you guys," Alvin grinned at his friends. "It is so lucky that Penny decided to date a cab driver."

"Actually, it's lucky that James is such a cool guy," Rodolfo pointed out. "Remember that time I ran away from home three years ago? He barely knew Penny back then, but still volunteered to help her and Uncle Mark look for me."

"Okay, you two," Zack spoke up, pulling his mother's old Yankees baseball cap out of his backpack and dropping three scraps of paper into it. "We came up with three gift ideas for Auntie Maureen's birthday on the way here. Now, let's see who's getting what." One by one, the three boys blindly selected one of the scraps of paper from the baseball cap. Before long, it was decided that Alvin would be getting the cow print coffee mug, Zack would buy the soundtrack to Hair, which was the first show Maureen had gone to see after coming to New York, and Rodolfo had selected the option of a paperback book called _11,002 Things to Be Miserable About: The Satirical Not-So-Happy Book_.

"Okay, so now we know what we're getting Maureen," Alvin nodded, pocketing his scrap of paper. "You think they'll have the mug at the bookstore, too?"

"It's worth a shot," Zack shrugged. "Come on, let's get going. We only have one hour to get Auntie Maureen's gifts."

"Hang on," Rodolfo suddenly frowned, looking at something behind Zack and Alvin's shoulder. "Is that…?"

"What?" Alvin looked over to spot a small group of girls disappearing into one of the stores, just in time to recognize one of them. "It's just Tracey with some of her clique of girls. So what?"

"I…I thought I saw…" Rodolfo trailed off, still frowning in the direction Tracey and her friends went off in. "Oh, forget it. It probably wasn't her, anyway. Let's just get Auntie Maureen's presents, all right?" Alvin and Zack shared a confused look for a second, but followed Rodolfo in the direction of the bookstore in silence.

* * *

Sometime later, after Rodolfo, Zack and Alvin had gotten Maureen's birthday presents, they decided they had enough time to kill before James returned for them to grab some sodas and nachos from the food court.

"Hey, Rodolfo," Zack spoke up after popping one of the nachos into his mouth. "You going to tell us what you were going to say earlier?"

"Huh? When?" Rodolfo looked over at his 'cousin' with a furrowed brow.

"When we saw Tracey and her friends," Alvin reminded. "You said you thought you saw…."

"Oh, right," Rodolfo nodded in remembrance. "It was stupid. I thought I saw Kris with them, but then I decided it wasn't possible. I mean, for one thing, I don't think Kris ever met Tracey. And I saw they were going into one of those girl beauty shops, carrying bags from that Charlotte Russe store. I can't see Kris ever stepping foot in stores like that, can you?"

"Kris?" Alvin barely held back his laugh. "I wouldn't expect to see her in _half_ the stores in this mall."

"Which is why I didn't say anything," Rodolfo agreed, taking a sip from his soda. "I mean, _Charlotte Russe_? The girl we met at camp would _never _willingly wear stuff from _that _place." Placing his soda back on the table, Rodolfo glanced back at his friends, only to see that they were gawking at something behind them, their jaws dropped in shock. Wondering what was up with them, Rodolfo turned in his seat to see Tracey was sitting at a table behind them with three other girls. Shrugging, Rodolfo started to turn away again, but then did a double take at the girl who was wearing the pink blouse and orchid skirt. Even with the lip gloss, mascara, and eye shadow on her face, there was no mistaking her. It _was_ Kris.

"Kris?!" Rodolfo cried, gaping at his friend.

"Hi, Brown Eyes," Kris waved, noticing him.

"What are you doing here?" Zack asked as he, Alvin and Rodolfo approached the table. "And with Tracey? You've never met her, have you?"

"I was there when you were talking about Tracey in the park, remember?" Kris reminded.

"And is there a problem with Kris spending time with other girls for a change?" Tracey raised an eyebrow.

"What? No, of course no… That's not the point, Tracey," Rodolfo sputtered.

"The question is," Alvin stepped in, "Kris, have you seen what you're _wearing_?"

"Yeah," Kris glanced down at her new choice of clothing. "Tracey and the girls picked them out. They said it was the latest style for girls." Rodolfo's eyebrows nearly disappeared behind his hairline.

"Um, Kris, can I see you for a sec?" he asked, ushering her away for a moment. Once they were out of earshot, he turned to her with a concerned frown. "Kris, this doesn't have anything to do with what that Jennifer said to you at the park is it?"

"Rodolfo," Kris sighed, "you can't pretend that she wasn't partially right. I don't have any friends who are girls, unless you count Zack's sister, Lucia, and she's about three years younger than I am. Maybe it _is_ time I tried making friends with other girls my age, you know?"

"And what good is that friendship if they're trying to make you someone you're not?" Rodolfo challenged. "You don't wear skirts and blouses, Kris, and you certainly don't wear makeup. Don't you think you'd be better off making friends with girls who _didn't_ try and make you more like them?"

"Kris!" Tracey called over as she and the other girls left their table. "Are you coming?" Kris paused for a moment, looking back at them hesitantly.

"Don't think I don't appreciate the concern, Brown Eyes," Kris finally said, glancing back at Rodolfo. "But maybe the reason you've always had friends was because you acted like a boy. Maybe it's time I started acting like a girl." Before Rodolfo could say a word otherwise, Kris turned and left the food court with Tracey.

* * *

That night at dinner, Rodolfo and Zack wasted no time in telling Mark and Emily all about the incident with Kris at the mall.

"And she was going shopping with that Tracey girl from math club!" Rodolfo exclaimed. "Shopping at Charlotte Russe!"

"You should have seen it, Dad!" Zack turned to Mark. "Kris Kelly, the girl from summer camp, the one who talked to ants and drove off Charles Miller for us. They had her wearing eyeliner!"

"I don't think I understand the problem, Zack," Mark replied. "Personally, I know quite a few girls who wear eyeliner. In fact, even your Aunt Angel sometimes wore eyeliner"

"Your father's right," Emily agreed. "Besides, a lot of teenage girls sometimes experiment with their look and try out new identities. It's perfectly normal."

"Aunt Emily!" Rodolfo cried, staring at her incredulously. "She was wearing _pink_!"

"Oh!" Penny paused from eating her baked ziti. "That _is_ serious."

"Exactly," Zack nodded, grinning at Penny in gratitude for her understanding. "So we need to know how we can snap Kris out of this and get her back to normal. Well, normal for Kris, anyway."

"I like Kris," Lucia spoke up, backing up her brother. "She was really nice at camp. I don't want her to change."

"Neither do we, Luce," Rodolfo agreed. "Uncle Mark, Aunt Emily, you know how we can talk some sense into her, don't you?" Mark and Emily took a while to answer, sharing a brief nonverbal conversation.

"Actually, Rodolfo," Emily finally sighed. "I think the best thing for you and Zack to do for now is to just let Kris do this."

"Do _nothing_?" Zack cried in shock. "Mom, those girls will _destroy_ her if we don't save her."

"I think you're being a little extreme, Zack," Mark smiled. "From what you've told us, Kris is only trying out a new look. Truthfully, that seems like it's nothing to worry about."

"As long as Kris doesn't get involved in anything dangerous," Emily continued, "I think the best thing you can do is just be supportive to your friend."

"So, Kris being brainwashed isn't considered dangerous by you?" Rodolfo sighed heavily, getting up from the table. "Thanks for the dinner, Aunt Emily, but I'm full." Without a word, Rodolfo left the kitchenette and entered his room, with Zack joining him seconds later.


	4. Invitations

**AN:** A rather short chapter, sad to say. I wanted this chapter to be longer, but I decided to postpone the next scene, which is giving me a bit of trouble, and move it to the next chapter. Anyway, on with the story. Please read and review. I'm rather sad after only getting two reviews for the first chapter and none after that, but I suppose that's better than nothing.

* * *

Tuesday afternoon found Zack and Rodolfo alone in the Condo, with the small exceptions of James' young son, Sammy, and Zack's younger sister, Lucia. Mark was off with his coworkers, working on a project for Redefining Pictures, Emily was at her photography studio, and Penny was busy with her job at the hospital, so the teen boys had been left in charge of babysitting Sammy while James was driving his taxi cab through the New York streets.

At the current time, while Sammy was taking a nap on Zack's bed and Lucia was upstairs, the two boys were taking full advantage of the fact that they, unlike Lucia, had received no homework that day and were discussing the problem of Kris' change in personality.

"I already talked to Auntie Maureen and Aunt Joanne," Zack was saying. "They said they wouldn't mind if we brought a friend to Auntie Maureen's birthday dinner at the Life tomorrow night."

"So all we have to do," Rodolfo continued, "is invite Kris to come along. She's got to agree to it. She always sounded interested in the place when we talked about it at camp."

"Hopefully," Zack concluded, "once she's away from Tracey's brainwashing influence, her mind may be clear enough for us to talk sense into her again."

"Sounds good," Rodolfo nodded.

"Right," Zack agreed. "You make the call, Rodolfo."

"What? Me?" Rodolfo blinked.

"Hey, Kris likes you best. Alvin and I both agree on that. You're the only one she gave a nickname to, remember, _Brown Eyes_?"

"Shut up, Zacky," Rodolfo rolled his eyes before picking up the phone and dialing the number for the Kelly Koffeehouse. "Hi, Mr. Kelly. It's Rodolfo. How's business today?....Great. Hey, is Kris home?....Thanks, Mr. Kelly." Zack took a moment to look back at Sammy, who was shifting in his sleep, to make sure he wouldn't accidentally roll off the loft bed in his sleep. By the time he turned back, Kris had clearly taken the phone from her father, and was greeting Rodolfo. "Hi, Kris. How are...Zack, what?" Before Rodolfo could continue, Zack started tugging on the phone cord and wordlessly gesturing to himself. "Okay fine. Kris? Hang on, I'm putting you on speaker phone." After activating the speaker so he and Zack could talk to their friend, Rodolfo continued. "Sorry about that Kris. Go ahead."

"I didn't know you had speaker phone, Brown Eyes," Kris commented.

"Yeah, Alvin's dad got it for our family for Christmas years ago," Zack explained. "He thought that the reason our dads always screened their calls was because they wanted to hear them together, so he got them a speaker phone so they wouldn't have to. Of course, according to Mom and Dad, that never stopped them."

"Anyway," Rodolfo cut in, returning to the correct subject, "we were going to ask you, Kris. Tomorrow is our Auntie Maureen's birthday, and we were all going to celebrate with dinner at the Life Café. Zack and I wanted to know if you'd like to come, too."

"Oh!" Kris suddenly sounded excited. "That sounds nice. I'd love to come! Are you sure it's okay?"

"Oh, yeah," Rodolfo answered with a smile. "Auntie Maureen and Aunt Joanne already said they were fine with you coming. So, do you think you'll be ready by five thirty tomorrow night? Zack and I'll stop by your place around that time and we'll head down to the Life together."

"Okay," Kris agreed happily. "Thanks for inviting me, Rodolfo, Zack. I really can't wait."

"Yeah, us too," Rodolfo nodded, giving Zack a thumbs-up. So far, their plan to save Kris from Tracey's brainwashing was going well.

* * *

Kris had woken up before dawn on Wednesday morning, but was too excited to go back to sleep. She actually was invited to join friends for their aunt's birthday dinner. She'd never been asked to go out for dinner by friends before, and though the whole day, her mind kept wandering to five thirty, when Zack and Rodolfo would be stopping by to pick her up. As a result, she was barely able to pay attention to her Uncle Jeremy as he home schooled her that day. By the time 3:00 came around, she couldn't wait much longer and went upstairs to finish wrapping the present she was going to give Maureen. She knew that she'd never actually met Zack and Rodolfo's aunt, but that still didn't stop her from making a Popsicle stick purse and lining it with a satin handkerchief that she'd gotten for Easter one year but had never used.

Just as she'd packed the Popsicle stick purse into the gift bag, she heard her father's voice from downstairs.

"Kris?" David called. "Someone's here to see you." Feeling puzzled, Kris looked over at the nearby clock on her lightning alarm clock to see it was only a quarter after three. Zack and Rodolfo weren't coming around for about another two hours, so who was here to see her? In curiosity, Kris left the upstairs apartment and made her way downstairs into the Kelly Koffeehouse. In doing so, she saw Tracey waiting at one of the tables.

"Oh, hi, Tracey," Kris waved, slipping into her well-practiced role at taking orders for her family's business. "Can I interest you in our cherry latte? It's our promotional feature this month."

"Not today, Kris," Tracey shook her head. "Truth is, me and the girls were heading out to the hair salon. Linda has a special five-for-one deal there. We thought you might like to come."

"Um, actually," Kris replied hesitantly, "Zack and Rodolfo were coming around later on. They invited me to their aunt's birthday, and…"

"Oh, don't worry!" Tracey cut her off. "We'll be done in _plenty_ of time for that. Besides, it would be good for you to get a new hairstyle for the party. No offence, but yours is rather plain. It just hangs there." Kris paused for a long moment, conflicted. She'd never had any complaint about her hair before. In fact, her father even said it made her look like her mother before the cancer took hold. On the other hand, maybe Tracey was right, and it was time for a bit of a change. And it would be nice to have a normal girl experience with other girls.

"Well, I guess, as long as I'm back in time for Zack and Rodolfo when they come pick me up for their aunt's party,…."

"Great," Tracey stood up smiling. "Now, come on! The girls are waiting at the salon. We gotta hurry." Without giving Kris a chance to have second thoughts, Tracey ushered her out the door.


	5. Fallout

**AN:** A note to my readers. I really wish I could have found a good way to put more of the adult Bohemians into this story, but it's very hard to do. However, I can pretty much promise that there's a good chance there will be more of them in the next story I write.

Anyway, this is the chapter I've been wanting to post for a long time now. Here's hoping it's enjoyable, and the ending takes (almost) everyone by surprise.

* * *

"Kris, did you hear me?" Tracey's voice snapped Kris out of her trance and she finally looked over at the girl who was sitting next to her at the manicurist's table. For a long time, Kris had been paying no attention to what was going on, and continually glanced at her reflection in the mirror. When they'd arrived at the salon, her black hair had been long and straight, but the stylist had cut and bobbed it, so it now framed her face. However, when Tracey spoke to her directly for a second time, Kris finally looked away from the mirror.

"Oh, sorry, Tracey," Kris apologized. "I'm…not used to my hair being this short."

"Well, trust me, you look great. And Betty and Vanessa will say the same when they're done getting their eyebrows waxed in the back room. By the way, I hope you don't mind, but I chose which color for them to use. I thought 'pink glove service' would match your skin tone the best." Looking down in surprise, Kris noticed that her fingernails had been neatly filed and coated with warm pink nail polish.

"You let them paint my nails?" Kris blinked in confusion.

"Well, you can't come to a salon and just get your hair done," Tracey smiled as she studied the nail polish options for her nails. "So, is there anything you like to eat, Kris? Once we're done here, we might head out for some dinner. After all, it's already past the traditional dinner time."

"What?" Kris jumped, staring at Tracey in surprise. Reaching out, she took hold of the manicurist's arm to glance at the watch on her wrist. It was almost six thirty. And that meant….

"Kris, where are you going?" Tracey cried as Kris pushed away from the manicurist's table and hurried out of the salon.

* * *

The Bohemian family was gathered around their usual tables in the Life Cafe. As was customary when they were celebrating someone's birthday, Maureen was sitting at the head of the table, with Joanne, Penny, James, Sammy, Benny and Allison on one side and Emily, Mark, Lucia, Alvin, Zack and Rodolfo on the other. Everyone present was laughing amidst anecdotes about past times while finishing their dinners. Everyone except for Zack and Rodolfo, who kept glancing over at the empty seat next to them where Kris should be sitting. They had arrived at the Kelly Koffeehouse at five thirty to pick Kris up for the party exactly like they'd planned, but Kris' dad had told them that she'd gone out with a group of girls hours before and hadn't returned yet. Neither of them had any doubt that he was referring to Tracey and her friends.

By the time six thirty came around, however, the party started to break apart, first with James, who needed to take a sleepy-eyed Sammy home to put him to bed, followed by the Coffins, on account of Benny needing to get up early for a business meeting in the morning. It wasn't much later that Maureen and Joanne decided to head to their pad as well, to continue celebrating Maureen's birthday in their own way. Maureen had just finished thanking Mark, Emily and Penny for their gifts for the final time and was starting to do the same to Zack and Rodolfo when the door to the Life opened. For a long moment, Kris stood in the door, with Zack and Rodolfo looking right back at her, showing varying reactions to her new haircut. No one said a single word until Emily and Joanne decided to usher everyone else outside, realizing that the two boys had a few words to say Kris in private.

"I…I'm sorry," Kris muttered, looking at her feet the moment she was alone with her friends.

"Really?" Rodolfo grunted, making an obvious attempt to not look at her.

"Kris, we told you we were coming at five thirty," Zack reminded. "And when we stop by to pick you up for Auntie Maureen's party, your dad tells us you went off with _Tracey_."

"I know, and I'm _really_ sorry," Kris insisted. "Tracey stopped by and invited me to join her friends at a salon. I…I've never been asked to go out to a salon before, and…It's really nice to be included in activities with other girls. I really thought I'd be back in time to meet you, but…I lost track of time, and…"

"Save it," Rodolfo sighed heavily, finally looking at her with a furious glare. "Kris, why are you even hanging around with Tracey and her group?"

"Because, Rodolfo," Kris replied. "I've never been friends with other girls before."

"Friend? You call Tracey your _friend_?" Rodolfo spat. "The same Tracey who's getting you to wear makeup, and chopping off your hair, and dressing like a…prissy prep girl? The same Tracey who makes you late for something you already _promised_ to be there for? Yeah, that's a _really_ good friend, someone who goes out of their way to turn you into one of her brainless sheep."

"And what do you call what _you're_ doing, Brown Eyes?" Kris snapped, suddenly angry. "What do you call someone who goes around telling you who you can be friends with?"

"Kris, come on," Zack tried to be peace-maker. "Rodolfo and I are just concerned, that's all. Ever since you started hanging around with Tracey, you've been changing a lot, and we're just worried that…we might be loosing the friend we made at camp. In case you've forgotten, we liked you because you were, well, _you_. We liked you for who you were, not for someone you could be turned into."

"Oh, I see," Kris rounded on Zack. "So, you're saying you like to make friends with people who can't make any _without_ you taking pity on them?"

"What? No, I'm not saying that!" Zack tried to explain, but it was no use. Kris had already tuned and stormed out, not even sparing a second glance at them.

* * *

An hour later, Rodolfo was back in his room in the Condo, sulking in the desk chair and fuming over his fight with Kris. He hadn't said a single word to his family the whole way home, and the instant they'd arrived back at the Condo, he'd slipped straight into his room. Up until now, everyone had left him alone, but it wasn't much longer before someone knocked on the door and Zack slowly walked in.

"Hey, Rodolfo?" Zack began hesitantly.

"What is it now, Zack?" Rodolfo mumbled grumpily.

"Mom and Dad thinks that I should just leave you be, but… I have to say this. Maybe…maybe we should call Kris. You know, and apologize?"

"Apologize to _her_?" Rodolfo exploded. "She's the one who should apologize to us! Don't you get it, Zack? She's not Kris anymore! The Kris who was our friend would never have forgotten about Auntie Maureen's party. She wouldn't have gone off with Tracey and let herself get turned into a member of the ya ya sisterhood. Tracey and her friends have ruined her!"

"Don't you think I'm upset about what happened to Kris, too?" Zack argued. "But I think we need to see things from her perspective. We all know we're probably the only friends she's ever had, and she hasn't had the chance to spend a lot of time with other girls. As horrible as Tracey and her friends are for Kris, they're probably the first girls who have allowed Kris to hang out with them."

"Oh, not you too, Zack," Rodolfo rolled her eyes. "Never thought you'd ever take _her_ side."

"Hey, I'm not taking her _side_, Rodolfo!" Zack exclaimed. "I'm just saying Kris might be in a confusing position right now. I just said that she didn't have much chance to interact with other girls before. Think about it for a second, okay? Who are Kris' only friends? You, me, and Alvin. Who does her family consist of? Her dad, her uncle, and her two brothers. Can you see the pattern? She's never been around other girls before in her life. She didn't even have her mother growing up, so she missed out on all that mother/daughter stuff. Maybe Kris just wanted to have someone show her how to be a girl for once, okay?"

"Yeah, and I think we've _all_ seen what happens when someone goes out of their way to enforce a girl to live by a certain standard, Zackary Cohen," Rodolfo spun around, glaring at Zack. "And maybe _that's_ why little Zoey Rabe stopped writing you. Because it made her remember what happened when she was staying with us, and how her dad was dragged off to some jail cell to rot." The instant he'd said those words, Rodolfo instantly regretted them. His anger at Zack for defending Kris' betrayal had left him wanting to hurt Zack, but the expression that appeared on his 'cousin's' face afterwards had immediately given him second thoughts.

"Zack, I…I'm sorry," Rodolfo muttered, slumping his shoulders in guilt. "I…I shouldn't have mentioned…that wasn't…" Zack didn't give Rodolfo a chance to finish saying what he was trying to say. Instead, he spun around and stormed out of the bedroom. "Zack, come on!" Rodolfo hurried after him, ignoring Mark and Emily's obvious confusion about what had gotten their son so upset. "I shouldn't have mentioned her. I'm sorry."

"Forget it, Rodolfo," Zack shouted, rounding on the brown-eyed boy. "You know, maybe if you weren't so pig-headed sometimes, Kris wouldn't have ended up as one of Tracey's friends." Satisfied with seeing Rodolfo was too stunned to say anything more, Zack turned to his parents. "Mom, Dad, I gotta step out for a bit, okay?"

"No, it's not okay!" Emily replied sternly. "I don't know what you two are fighting about, but I seriously doubt its bad enough for you to endanger yourself by going out at this hour."

"In case you've forgotten, Zack," Mark stepped in, "New York is no place for a fifteen-year-old to wander around at night."

"Fine, then I'll stay in the building," Zack huffed. "But I'm _not_ going to sit around here with _him_." Grunting in exasperation, Zack turned and yanked the door open to head out, but before he could step into the hall, he froze at the sight of someone standing outside, looking right back at him. For a long time, he was absolutely still, staring at the person outside the Condo, taking in her long blonde hair and violet eyes, barely even believing what he was seeing. It had been over a year since he last saw her, but he still had no trouble in recognizing the girl standing in front of him.

"Hi, Zack," the girl whispered with a nervous but happy smile. Zack blinked once or twice before he was able to find his voice, still amazed beyond belief that he was actually seeing her there.

"Zoey," he breathed.


	6. The Unexpected Return

"Zoey, this is an unexpected surprise," Emily smiled at the young girl. "Why don't you come in?"

"Thank you, Mrs. Cohen," Zoey replied, accepting the invite with a cheerful smile. The difference in her manner was pleasantly noticeable to everyone in the room. When Zoey had last been in New York, she had been extremely quiet and withdrawn, a direct result of the life she'd spent with her father, a misogynistic man who had used abusive force in ensuring she met the set standard he held for all women. In the year since then, in which Zoey had been living with her maternal grandparents in Iowa, she'd clearly blossomed into a much happier teenage girl.

As Zoey entered the Condo, the Cohen family was slightly surprised to see an elderly woman accompanying her.

"Everyone, this is Grandma Danielle," Zoey introduced.

"It's very nice to meet you all at last," Danielle greeted, shaking Mark and Emily's hands. "Zoey has told us all about you, and we're both grateful for how you helped her when she was last in New York."

"It was our pleasure," Mark replied, slightly bemused at being thanked for it. After all, he hadn't really done much during the incident in question. It had been Penny and James who had speculated exactly how Zoey was being mistreated by her father, and Rodolfo was the one who made sure Peter Rabe was kept away from Zoey while they were waiting for the cops to pick him up.

"I hope we aren't imposing on you by coming by this late," Danielle continued. "But Zoey was very eager to see you today. My husband, Richard, will be up very shortly. He's just trying to find a place to park the car."

"Please, make yourselves at home," Emily invited. "Would you like some tea?"

"Only if it's no trouble," Danielle answered.

* * *

A short time later, Zoey was sitting on the couch between her grandparents while Mark and Emily took the easy chair. Zack, Rodolfo and Lucia were assembled on the floor nearby. Only Penny was absent from the room, because she was called into work and probably had to be at the hospital for most of the night.

"So, what brings you to New York?" Mark asked. "I mean, this isn't usually the time of year when people come here for a family vacation."

"Yes, we know," Danielle confirmed. "But that would be because we're _not_ here on vacation. You see, my husband, Richard, has a degree in history, and for the past forty years, he taught at the local public school. But recently, the school administrative board of Iowa decided that he'd reached the age when it was time to replace him with someone younger."

"Isn't that age discrimination?" Rodolfo inputted. "Our Aunt Joanne's a lawyer. She could probably…."

"I thank you for your support, young man," Robert chuckled. "But I'm afraid it's too late for that. You see, I've already found a much better job. I'm now employed as a tour guide for the New York Historical Society, over on Central Park West."

"You're kidding!" Lucia exclaimed. "That's great! Does that mean you're moving to the city?"

"Actually, we've _already_ moved here," Danielle clarified. "We officially moved into our new apartment yesterday evening."

"Wait!" Rodolfo cried, hardly believing what he was hearing. "You're saying Zoey _lives_ here now?!"

"That's right. Danielle and I had a meeting with the school's administrator just this morning to enroll her in the local high school," Richard stated, smiling at his granddaughter. "She'll be starting tomorrow." Zoey returned the smile before chancing a glance at Zack, only to find that he was silently staring at her, as if he didn't quite recognize her.

"That's wonderful news," Emily said. "The boys missed Zoey very much when she moved in with you after the ordeal with her father."

"Yes, and Zoey's missed them, too," Danielle agreed. "You should have seen her face when she found out where we'd be moving to. She actually wanted to come over to see your boys since this morning. But with the arrangements that had to be made in enrolling her into the high school, meeting with her new teachers, and the task of starting to unpack, it was 6:00 by the time we were able to drive by for a quick visit. Of course, we thought it was best to wait a bit longer, since it wouldn't have been polite to stop by while you were having dinner."

"Your timing was just right," Mark assured. "Any sooner and you might have missed us altogether. We were all at a friend's birthday dinner until seven."

From his spot on the floor, Zack barely paid attention to his parents talking with Zoey's grandparents. He still had difficulty believing what was happening. He hadn't heard a word from Zoey in two months, and now she'd suddenly turned up at his home, acting as if nothing had changed. If she'd been moving, why hadn't she just written him and let him know? It would have been nice for her to tell him that instead of two months of no word at all.

Reaching the point when he had all he could take of the situation, Zack got to his feet and, after excusing himself, stepped out into his bedroom, where he collapsed onto the desk chair. Almost immediately, Maya, the family cat, hopped up onto his lap and curled up, purring in contentment as Zack stroked her back. Nearly two minutes passed before there was a tentative knock at the door, which opened before Zack could respond. Glancing up, Zack saw Zoey standing in the door.

"I…I was just coming in to say goodnight," she explained cautiously. "Grandma, Grandpa and I are heading back to our new apartment. So, I suppose I'll be seeing you at school tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah," Zack nodded, staring at the floor. "I guess so."

"Zack?" Zoey continued, stepping forward. "I just wanted to say. I never actually got a chance to thank you….last time…for being my friend."

"You mean, _offering_ to be your friend," Zack corrected. "You know, it would have been nice if you'd just said you didn't want to be, Zoey."

"What do you mean?" Zoey gaped, looking completely taken aback. "I…I _did_ want to be your friend. I still do."

"Then why didn't you bother telling me you were going to move here?" Zack cried. "I hadn't gotten a single letter or phone call from you in two months! I was…I was starting to think you wanted to forget about me or something. And now you show up, out of the blue, and say you moved here?"

"Is that's what was bothering you?" Zoey blinked.

"Well, wouldn't it have bothered you, if someone you thought was your friend stopped contacting you for so long?"

"Zack, I'm sorry," Zoey apologized. "Really, I am. It was just that…the moving preparations were taking up all our time. I didn't have much time to write a proper letter at all. It didn't help much that Grandpa had our old mailing address removed from the post office files, or whatever you need to do when you're going to move. And… I didn't mention the move before that, because…I wanted it to be a surprise. I guess I was wrong, but…I don't want you to think I didn't want anything to do with you. I mean, you were the first one who reached out to me after my mother…."

When Zack didn't reply, Zoey continued. "I…I never stopped thinking about you, Zack. Really, I thought about you all the time in Iowa. Every day, and every night." It was at that moment that Zack noticed Zoey had removed something from her pocket and was holding it out to show him. Upon glancing at the object in Zoey's hand, he saw it was a small figurine of an otter, one from the Bronx Zoo's gift shop. A few seconds passed in complete silence, until Zack finally stood up, ignoring Maya's annoyed 'mew' as she lost her place on his lap.

"You…you kept it?" Zack whispered.

"I never went anywhere without it," Zoey admitted. "It was the first real gift I ever received. And…it was from you." Zack, feeling a sudden blush threatening to form, looked away. He could not remember another time when he was as flustered as he was now, unable to think of a single word to say. It did not help at all when Zoey reached out to lay a hand over his cheek before laying a small kiss on the other. The only thing he could manage was give her a weak, awkward smile, which Zoey returned just as nervously.


	7. Zoey's Insight

**AN: **I apologize for the poor ending to this chapter. I'm currently facing a huge writer's slump, in which I have very little energy for writing, and have to force myself to complete a chapter. Basically, I wanted to get this story finished soon, especially since there's only one more chapter to go, and I have a million ideas in my head for other RENT stories that are itching to be put onto paper.

In an related story, please be sure to visit my profile, since time is running out for the current poll I have up. I'm planning to close it and reveal the results at the start of next month. If you haven't taken part in the poll yet, be sure to do so now. Plus, be sure to take a look at the upcoming RENT projects I will be starting once this story is finished, which are also listed on my profile. I'll have a new poll related to them on April the 11th. Thank you for your time, and enjoy this chapter.

* * *

The high school cafeteria on Thursday afternoon was packed, just like every other school day, but there was a difference at one particular table located in the corner. Usually, this table only was occupied by three people, namely Zack, Rodolfo, and Alvin. Today, they were joined for the first time by one other high schooler, Zoey Rabe.

"Looks like you've got it good today, Zoey," Alvin said, looking over the girl's new schedule. "You're even in our math class next period. You'll like Mr. Pierre. He's a pretty cool guy."

"So, how do you like your first day here so far?" Rodolfo grinned, glancing down slightly as he spoke, taking note of the fact that Zoey and Zack had positioned their hands on the table in such a way that they were slightly touching, as if they wanted to hold hands but were unsure if they should.

"It was…very nice," Zoey replied, momentarily catching Zack's eye before they both looked away in shy embarrassment.

"Um," Zack cleared his throat, searching for something to say, finally settling his eyes on their lunch trays. "You should try the fruit tarts tomorrow. They're very good."

"I'll do that," Zoey smiled. Once again turning away with a blush forming, the teen girl managed to gather enough courage to turn her hand so her palm faced upward. Catching on to the subtle invitation, Zack finally took her hand, entwining their fingers.

Rodolfo and Alvin's good-naturedly smug grins faded when they spotted a group of girls passing by their table. To their immense displeasure, Tracey was at the head of the group, talking to her friends.

"It's all set," she was saying. "I called up Kris before leaving for school today. She'll be meeting us by the flagpole after school lets out, and we'll head back to the mall. She's going to need a lot more clothes, and we might be able to introduce her to actual music. Can you believe she's never listened to anything cool? Nothing but bluegrass!"

Scowling, Rodolfo slammed his milk carton onto the table, slightly splashing the white liquid onto his hand.

"I take it they're not friends of yours?" Zoey blinked, noticing the reaction the boys were having to Tracey's presence.

"She's only a brainwashing friend-stealer," Rodolfo mumbled, glaring at Tracey as she sat at her usual table, surrounded by her usual clique. For the rest of their lunch period, Alvin and Zack told Zoey all about Kris, and how drastically she'd been changing under Tracey's influence, while Rodolfo continued to glower at Tracey.

* * *

After school, the four friends exited the building together, with Zack and Zoey taking up the rear, holding hands. Zack was just working up the courage to offer walking Zoey back to her apartment when Tracy passed by them. Immediately, Rodolfo stopped in his tracks and watched with narrowed eyes as Tracey stopped in front of the school's flagpole where Kris was waiting, dressed in a floral blouse and beige skirt. For a moment, Rodolfo was rooted to the spot, his hands closing into fists, but then he started striding forward.

"Whoa, Rodolfo!" Alvin called. "Where're you…?"

"Well, if we can't talk sense into Kris, then confronting Tracey is our only chance, isn't it?" Rodolfo replied over his shoulder. Sharing a momentary glance, Alvin, Zack, and Zoey followed their friend to help, and possibly to keep him from loosing his temper.

"Well, good afternoon to you, Rodolfo Davis," Tracey greeted with an irritating smile. Kris, however, looked away, and it was hard to tell if it was in anger or awkward embarrassment.

"Cut the act, Tracey," Rodolfo ordered. "Why are you palling around with Kris, anyway?"

"Don't start this again, Rodolfo," Kris rounded on him.

"Kris came to me, in case you've forgotten," Tracey frowned. "She wanted to have friends that were girls. As shocking as it might seem to you, Kris is a girl."

"We _know_ she's a girl," Alvin rolled his eyes. "We don't need you to tell us that."

"Apparently you do, if you have such a problem with her acting like a girl," Tracey shrugged.

"Since when does acting like a girl mean you're allowed to make plans with your friends, and then blow them off at the last minute to get a haircut, and who knows what else you got Kris to do last night?" Zack spoke up. For a brief moment, Kris looked guilty, but Tracey cut her off before she had a chance to say anything.

"Did it ever occur to you that Kris deserves better friends than a bunch of guys who constantly criticize their choice in girl friends?"

"When those girl friends go out of their way to turn Kris into something she's not, we have every _right_ to speak up," Rodolfo snapped. "Just look at her, Tracey. That's not who Kris is. The real Kris would _never_ dress like that, or go to the mall for makeup and shoes, and whatever else she's been doing with you. I mean, do you even know _anything_ about Kris? The _real_ Kris? For example, what's her favorite animal? What does she like on her hot dogs? Have you even _asked_ her things like that?"

"I've been a little more worried with more _important_ things," Tracey sighed heavily. "A friend is someone who's willing to help their friends, and that is just what I'm doing with Kris, by helping her learn how to be a proper girl. That's what she wanted to know when she came to me in the first place, and that's what we've been doing."

"You sound like my father," Zoey suddenly whispered, causing Zack and Rodolfo to start. They hadn't expected her to enter this conversation, especially not by bringing something like her father up.

"I sound like _who_?" Tracey fixed Zoey with an offensive stare.

"From the moment I was born," Zoey went on, "I had to live by my father's expectations of how a girl must behave. I wasn't allowed to speak to anyone, unless they spoke to me first. I had to learn everything a girl was supposed to know, and nothing else. The only reason I was allowed to attend school at all was because my father wanted me to know how to read and write, and understand simple math problems. But I wasn't supposed to know much more than that. Science was always my worst subject. My father made sure of that. And if I ever made a mistake, or did something that wasn't suitable for a girl to do, I would be…reminded of my place. It was very easy for me to keep my father's rule of never wearing something inappropriate for a girl, and keep most of myself covered at all times; it was the only way I could hide the marks and bruises.

"So, what about you, Tracey?" Zoey looked the curly haired girl straight in the eye. "What do _you_ think being a girl is? You think being a girl is just about wearing the right clothes and makeup? If so, how does that make you any better than my father?"

The next few minutes was met with complete silence, with Zack instinctively squeezing Zoey's hand in quiet support and comfort. No one who had known Zoey during the events of last year's incident with Peter Rabe would have ever expected her to mention her father in such a straightforward way. Finally, Zoey slowly turned and walked away, with Zack at her side and Alvin soon following their example. Rodolfo was the last to leave Tracey and Kris at the flagpole. Before he left, however, he glanced back at Kris, who momentarily met his eye before looking away with an unreadable expression.

* * *

Back at the Condo, Zack was sitting on the floor next to Zoey, who had gotten permission from her grandparents to have dinner with the Cohens that night. Deciding to postpone the task of homework until after dinner, Zack was taking the time to teach Zoey how to play _Super Mario Brothers 3_.

"Oh, Zoey, quick!" Zack cried with a laugh. "Hurry, grab the leaf!"

"Yes! I got it!" Zoey exclaimed with a large smile. "I love when I get the raccoon tail!"

As Zack and Zoey laughed, Rodolfo reclined back on the couch, watching them play. While he didn't intend to admit it, the brown-eyed teen was glad Zoey was back in the city. Zack hadn't exactly been a zombie after she'd moved to Iowa, but there still had been a noticeable difference in the way he laughed and smiled. Most people might not have noticed it, but Rodolfo wasn't Zack's 'cousin' and best friend for nothing. You couldn't share a room with someone for your whole life without being able to notice that Zack hadn't exactly been the same since meeting Zoey, but now that she was back, Zack was probably happier than Rodolfo had ever seen him.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door. Not wanting to make Zack and Zoey interrupt their game time, Rodolfo pulled himself up from the couch. Upon opening the door, he was surprised to see Kris standing there, smiling nervously.

"Kris?" Rodolfo was frozen for a moment, his mouth slightly open, but he quickly cleared his throat and took up a indifferent stance. "Aren't you supposed to be trying on shoes with Tracey at the mall?"

"Well, actually…." Kris shrugged, looking like she was feeling extremely awkward, "I was just wondering. Is….did you know Tracey and the girls don't go to the arcade? They say the arcade is a place for guys. And they don't like bluegrass, either. They won't even go out to see a good zombie movie. So, what I'm asking is…. That offer you, Zack, and Alvin gave me, about spending time at the arcade together. Is it still open? Because…I think…I'd like to play skeeball with you."

"Well," Rodolfo paused, looking back at Zack and Zoey, who had paused the game to come and join them at the door. "It's really not up to me, Kris. I think Zack and Alvin deserve a vote in the matter. And now there's also Zoey to voice her thoughts."

"Rodolfo, quit the act," Zack grinned. "Are you going to let Kris come in or not?"

"Yeah, come on, Rodolfo," Zoey agreed. "Besides, I think you and Zack still owe me that girls vs. boys game from the last time I was here. How about it? You and Zack using Mario and Kris and me playing as Luigi?" Chuckling to himself, Rodolfo stepped aside, gesturing for Kris to come in, returning her grateful smile.

"Just one thing, Brown Eyes," Kris began, meeting Rodolfo's eyes as Zack returned to the start screen to begin the girls vs. boys run of _Super Mario Brothers 3_. "About what you were asking Tracey at school today, about her knowing anything about me?"

"Your favorite animal is the sea horse," Rodolfo replied, automatically knowing what she was going to ask. "And you like hot dogs with mustard, and a sliced pickle tucked into the bun."

"Thank you, Rodolfo," Kris smiled placidly. "It's good, having you for a friend."

"Likewise, Kris," Rodolfo agreed, once again returning her smile.


	8. The Life Cafe Again

**AN:** And here's the final chapter to the In-Crowd. Thanks to all who have read this story, and an even bigger thanks to those who have left reviews.

There may be a brief hiatus before the next installment of the Boho Kids arc, since I'm having difficulty in coming up with a good title for it. If anyone has any suggestions, please send me a PM. (It'll be the Untitled City Adventure described in my profile.) Thanks in advance.

* * *

To most of New York, that October night was the same as any other. All over the city, people were returning home from work or heading out to the bars and nightclubs. Even at the Life Café, a group of tables had been pushed together so the Bohemian family could enjoy their usual monthly family dinner. However, this particular family dinner was a little bit more than their usual meeting. It also served to be a congratulatory dinner for Zack.

"Lemme see that article again!" Maureen requested, trying to pry the school newspaper from Zack, Rodolfo, Alvin and Zoey's high school out of Joanne's hands again, for no other reason except that she just liked seeing the headline to the article in question.

_The Girls of Today: Why the Roles of Women May Never Fully Evolve_

_By Zachary Thomas Cohen_

"Thanks again for proofreading it before I brought my article down to the newspaper staff, Aunt Joanne," Zack thanked.

"Anytime, Zack," Joanne replied. "It was a very good article."

"The best part is," Alvin smiled, helping himself to some of the fries that were ordered for the table, "there was such a good response about it, the editing staff for the school newspaper are actually considering offering Zack a permanent opinion column."

"Is it wrong that the thought of it slightly scares me?" Benny asked.

"What's that supposed to mean, Benny?" Mark looked over at their once-former friend, who was sitting at the end of the table between Alison and Alvin. Benny, before replying, fixed Mark with a warm and friendly smile.

"It's always been rather obvious, at least to me, that Zack is your son, Mark," he explained. "This article proves it. I'd say it almost mirrors some of those early documentaries you made back at Brown. Still, and I might be alone here, I've always thought that…Zack seems to have a little bit of Collins in him as well. Thinking back to the days when I lived with you at the Loft, while you were Roger's best friend, it always seemed to be him and Collins causing all the mischief there."

"Hey, I helped them sometimes, too!" Maureen interjected proudly.

"The point is," Benny continued, the corners of his mouth twitching at Maureen's comment, "is that Zack's usually involved in some sort of prank with Rodolfo. I don't think you ever went along with Roger and Collins' schemes. So, maybe it's rather fitting that Zack was partially named after Collins. Somehow, even though they barely met, Zack seems to have indirectly picked up his…shall we say 'devious side'? Truthfully, the thought of someone who has views like Mark _and_ a mischievous nature that rivals Collins'....actually, I find the thought of him writing a regular opinion column slightly terrifying."

"I think I know what you mean," Emily laughed. "I've often said that if Collins was still around to team up with Zack and Rodolfo, I might actually be afraid of what they'd be able to do."

As the adult Bohemians laughed and talked, Zack once again looked at his copy of the article he'd written. He never thought he'd submit an article to the school newspaper, but after what he'd seen in the past year? After seeing how Zoey had been treated by her father and how Kris had been nearly brainwashed, he didn't see how he could do anything else but write about how many girls were still affected by the old gender roles. He'd even gone as far as to do some research on child psychology and how gender roles were sometimes unknowingly enforced since birth.

"It's pretty cool they even included that picture of Kris and Zoey," Rodolfo pointed out, rereading the article as well. Smiling briefly over at Zoey, who was sitting next to him, her hand in his, Zack glanced at the picture Rodolfo was referring to. At the top of the article was a picture of Zoey and Kris, with Zoey's arm positioned around Kris' shoulders and Kris flashing the camera a thumbs-up. It was the same picture that had appeared in the teen girl magazine article about teen girls living in New York.

In the short month since their first meeting, Kris and Zoey had became practically inseparable, with Kris frequently spending the night at Zoey's place and vice versa, along with weekly girls-only trips to the movies or the zoo. They had even agreed to participate in the teen girl magazine photo shoot, under the condition that they did so together. They ended up going down to the photo shoot wearing blue jeans and hiking boots, with Zoey in a powder blue sweater and Kris in an emerald green hoodie, a testament to Kris being through with listening to Tracey's 'advice' on being a girl and Zoey's freedom from her misogynistic father's abuse.

"So, any ideas for your next article, Zack?" Alvin asked, playfully shoving his friend's arm.

"Not really," Zack admitted. "But give me time. I'll think of something."

"Well, don't think too hard about it yet," Rodolfo said. "You need to think about what costume you're wearing at the school's Halloween party next week."

"Oh, why not just go as a vampire?" Alvin suggested.

"NO!" Rodolfo and Zack exclaimed in unison.

"We…we don't do vampire costumes in our family," Rodolfo clarified, casting a nervous eye over to the adult Bohemians.

"Why not?" Kris blinked, looking at them questioningly.

"Um…we'll tell you a story sometime," Zack promised.

"What do you do at a Halloween party, anyway?" Zoey spoke up. "I've never been to one before."

"You don't have to do anything," Zack explained. "All you do is eat the treats they prepare, play the games that have been set up, and enjoy the decorations and haunted maze they've built in the gym."

"It does sound nice," Kris observed wistfully.

"Don't sound so left out, Kris," Zoey laughed. "You're going with us."

"I thought it was only for people who went to your school," Kris pointed out.

"It kinda is," Rodolfo admitted. "But Uncle Mark and Aunt Emily already filled out the school form that allows us to bring you as our special guest. Like it or not, Kris, you're coming with us."

"You didn't _really_ think we'd have gone to the Halloween party without you, did you Kris?" Zoey smiled. "If you were going to miss it, then we would have just found something else that we could all do together."

"You're a part of the Bohemian family now," Zack concluded. "You're one of us. And when you're a part of the Bohemian family, you're a part of it forever, no matter what."

"Look at Dad for example," Alvin grinned. "Before we were born, he nearly lost his place in the family forever because he chose money over friendship at one point in time. But he's back in now, isn't he?"

"In that case," Kris smiled placidly, "when should we meet to pick out costumes?"

Smiling widely at one another, the Boho Kids clinked their plastic glasses of coke in a mock toast of lifetime friendship before further engaging into their conversation about the upcoming Halloween party.


End file.
